The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
‘Gold mine’ shining a light on missing history
the black watch: Four albums donated
A rich treasure trove of artefacts relating to The Black Watch has shone a light on the missing history of one of Scotland’s most famous fighting regiments.
The 4th battalion was stationed to Gibraltar during the Second World War but little evidence of that service is contained within the archives at Balhousie Castle.
The regiment’s history is being catalogued archivist Richard Mackenzie and his team, with the anniversary of t he First World War prompting a flood of donations.
The Black Watch Castle and Museum has received four albums filled with documents from the military career of Lieutenant Colonel JA Blair.
The officer served from the beginning of the 1930s, through the Second World War.
The museum team was particularly delighted when they came upon a large selection relating to the 4th Battalion’s service in Gibraltar.
They include pictures of many of the young men who served in that campaign and details of some of the most groundbreaking events of the time.
Among them are accounts of the sinking of the giant aircraft carrier, HMS Ark Royal, by the German sub U-81 in November 1941, just off the east coast of the island.
A menu from St Andrew’s Day of that same year details how the 4th Battalion dined during celebrations.
The men of The Black Watch enjoyed a meal themed to remind them of home, with dishes such as Melon Froid Angus, Potage Dundee, Turkey a la reine Elizabeth and Sausage Sassenach.
Pictures, letters and postcards offer an insight into some of the men who fought – among them a number of officers who set out from Dundee.
There is so much contained within the single Gibraltar album that it has more than tripled the material previously possessed by the museum relating to the 4th Battalion’s time on “The Rock”.
Also donated were copies of “The Advance Post”, a morale-boosting mock newspaper that was distributed to the troops.
It bears the date March 7 1943 and the warning “not to be published”, while the front page has the headline “Huns fleeing from bridgeheads” and reports that “33 enemy planes have been downed for the loss of six”.
Museum curator Hope Busak said: “We are always receiving donations but there are still gaps in the archive and we had not previously received any covering this period.
“We are indebted to the family of Lt Col Blair for their kind donation, which we have been poring through ever since.
“Our archivist Richard was absolutely thrilled and has barely been able to take his eyes off the four albums worth of pictures, postcards and documents since they arrived.
“Hopefully as we move from a focus on the anniversary of the First World War to the Second World War we will see even more gaps in the archive filled.
“As we really start to look at the conflict and create new exhibitions this material will be a gold mine. There is a wealth of incredible detail in these albums.”